A monumental day for grassroots sport in Maybury

06 May 2014

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The Mayor of Woking, Cllr Anne Roberts, officially opened a new state-of-the-art changing pavilion at New Monument School, Alpha Road playing fields. The highly anticipated project was made possible thanks to a £99,999 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund and £160,000 funding from Woking Borough Council.

The facility will complement the two existing junior football pitches at the site, and provide newly formed football club, Cardinal Juniors, with a home ground they can be extremely proud of. The development of Cardinal Juniors will be supported by Woking Football Club, in partnership with Woking Borough Council. Students from New Monument School, local sports clubs and members of the wider community will also benefit from the pavilion.

The budding new players were joined in their celebrations by Woking FC's mascot, KC KAT, who made a valiant effort to save penalties taken by dignitaries present at the event. A junior football tournament was also held for students from across Maybury, who demonstrated their artistic talent by designing Cardinal Juniors' new logo.

The pavilion, which cost over £400,000 in total, comprises four changing rooms, a kitchen, storage facilities and a club room. It will be available for hire, managed by Woking Borough Council, through Freedom Leisure.

Woking Borough Council worked in partnership with the Surrey County FA to secure a £99,999 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund towards the £416,560 project.

Funded by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government, via Sport England, the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund is delivered by the Football Foundation, the country's largest sports charity. Since it was launched in 2000, the Foundation has awarded around 12,000 grants worth more than £490m towards improving grassroots sport, which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of over £651m - over £1bn of investment into the grassroots game.

Since 2000 the Football Foundation funding partners' investment has provided 130 grants worth £10.5m towards grassroots sports projects worth over £22m across the whole of Surrey.

Many of the new state-of-the-art facilities will serve to strengthen the connection between professional football clubs and their local communities, particularly in the most deprived areas of the country, through the professional clubs' community trusts' outreach work.

Matt Glazier, Woking Borough Council's Sports Development Officer, said: "We are delighted to have worked in partnership with the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund to deliver this new state-of-the-art pavilion, which we hope will act as a catalyst for the development of football and other sports in the Maybury area.

"This significant investment will ensure that local sports clubs and the wider local community will benefit by being able to access and use quality facilities, encourage sports participation and give the local community a facility of which they can be proud."

Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: "The Football Foundation is responsible for managing and delivering The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which is funded by the Premier League, The FA and The Government, via Sport England. This outstanding changing pavilion is an example of the positive impact that this funding is having on our grassroots game. First-class facilities like this are crucial to creating more opportunities for local people to enjoy regular sport.

"Aided by the Surrey FA, Woking Borough Council deserve huge credit for taking a vision and turning it into a reality, using this funding provided by the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund. Sport has the power to make a positive impact on the health of communities and this wonderful new facility will improve the sporting experience of local people and encourage them to be more active."